Jesus & His Bold Statements to the Religionists
Notes
Transcript
Handout
This week picks up immediately where we left off last week…
the religionists of the day were questioning why jesus thought he had to authority to disrupt their Sabbath rules…
he had just miraculously healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years
but then he told him to take up his bed and walk which made the religionist mad because he was working on the sabbath...
Obviously this man was healed in a way that it could only be God, but that didn’t matter because of the traditions of men that christ didn’t then nor now does he adhere too
and we pick here with a truly earth shattering claim made by christ that all authority belonged to him…
right here we are going to see christ telling the religionists that he was equal to the God they worshipped
and then he did something even worse he showed them proof of it…
and this is all important to the modern church because i think we think of christ as a little lower then God but in fact he is God and equal to Him in all ways…
lets look at it
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
pray
I. Equality with God
I. Equality with God
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
right off the bat here he said that God was His father not “our father”
right off the bat here he said that God was His father not “our father”
in doing this he was claiming a unique relationship with god that they didn’t have…
and they understood immediately what he was saying when he called God his father and knew in saying it he was claiming himself equal to God
no bigger picture here he was declaring himself the Son of God right here which was huge because he was spelling it out to them he was the messiah they had waited for
the other thing he was “my father worketh hitherto and i work”
the other thing he was “my father worketh hitherto and i work”
let me put that in modern english to make it a little easier “My father is working until now and i am also working”
he was saying God never stops working even on the sabbath so he wouldn’t stop working either
christians understand that even though god rested on the 7th day he continued to work to sustain
he stopped creating but if God truly ever took a day off the world would collapse on itself because he is the sustainer of life
he is always working in his Love, mercy, helping, caring, and overseeing continuously
and right here is 2 reasons why the religionist wanted to kill christ
and right here is 2 reasons why the religionist wanted to kill christ
he was saying he was the son of god and his way was the right way not theirs…
he was disrupting the approved methods of worship in the temple which threatened their livelihoods
now look i want you to be real about this for a second…
you cannot be saved and not believe that jesus is the son of god and equal to god so this is important stuff here
if Jesus was just a regular man then our faith is in vein because regular men sin but if he was the perfect man then he had to be without sin or god in the flesh
the bible makes it clear he was with god in creation Jn 1:1-3 right?
so he was not created he is eternal and the only being not created is God himself…
tricky stuff here that i don’t have a lot of time here to explain but this is a fundamental and foundational doctrine of our faith…
the religionist of today don’t want to teach this stuff regularly because it opens the eyes of the believers to see their false rules and legalism
jesus was saying its not about “not working on the sabbath” or whatever fake rule they say today he was telling them its all about God
christian there is no middle ground here
jesus is the son of god and equal to god and because of that he was able to take the weight of sin on himself or he is not and we are worshipping a false messiah
so many people think i am against churches that have super high standards for dress, music, or whatever but i am not and we should not be…
what i am against and what we should be against is the elevation of false standards to the level of doctrines…
they are preferences, and preferences are ok as long as they are kept in check we have them here
But what is not ok is denying the working of god in and around us because it doesn’t fit our mold… or because it makes us uncomfortable
and if you look at a lot of so called fundamental churches today what you see is more of “god cant do that” or “you cant worship that way” than you do biblical preaching and teaching
but then look at how christ Goes on to prove what he is saying...
Why is Christ being God in the flesh so important to our faith?
Certain things are preferential things and some things are doctrinal, but when it comes to the doctrine of Christ being God and also not God (trinity) can someone be saved without believing in faith that christ was God in the flesh as still separate from God?
II. With his obedience and God’s love
II. With his obedience and God’s love
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
in verse 19 we can see two awesome things said...
in verse 19 we can see two awesome things said...
he was not acting alone or independently of God
Jesus was never in disobedience to god and “did his own thing”
he also never acted selfishly ot walked separately from god in anything he was doing
the bible says “Verily, Verily” again let me update that to you because what it is saying is TRULY TRULY
he was stressing to them that he did exactly as the father would do because he was the son
he was telling them he was in perfect unbroken communion with God
he was telling them he was the very same nature and person as God
and he was telling them he had authority to act as God because he was God
now i will stop right here and point somehting out to us all… we are not god and we are not christ and we don’t have the ability to act as god or anything of the sort
but we do have the ability and obligation to live in obedience to the father…
christianity isn’t way to have your cake and eat it to… if you can honestly say your saved and live however you want in disobedience to God without remorse or conviction i would say there is a big problem
too many people are claiming christ but living for the world and thats the exact opposite of what we should be doing…
if you are saved truly saved, you should be living for god not the world
and the only way you will ever live for God is to be obedient to him in your life and when you fail you have to repent and get right with god
because of the perfect obedience of christ was can live in fellowship with god if we go through christ
verse 20 here talks about the love between the Father and the Son
verse 20 here talks about the love between the Father and the Son
it starts with the father loving the son
the idea being shown here is that the father continuously loves the son and never stops
there is never a moment where the love of the father diminishes towards the son
because the father loved the son he showed him all things
jesus did what the father did and showed compassion on the man he healed
but he also said the father was going to show him greater things to do than heal a paralyzed man from last week in verse 8-9 of the chapter
later we will see jesus control nature on the sea of Galilee
we will see him feed thousands with very little
he will raise the dead
show the new age of grace through him fulfilling the law
and he will create a new covenant between man and god through his death
Now look you can think whatever you want to think but imagine being here seeing this scene
people all around and this man who has done miracles in this town numerous times and has just healed a lame man who was lame for 38 years is now telling the religious elite whats what when it comes to their god
this is powerful stuff and if we read it in context we see jesus was a confrontational preacher not some limp wristed push over
and christian understand that we are not supposed to be push overs either
he wasn’t rude and we shouldn’t be rude, but he was firm, direct, and spoke truth not opinion about why he was here
jesus boldly proclaimed himself to be loved by the father without end or without diminishing when the teaching of the time was god only loved those who followed the law which none did
jesus was shaking to the foundation the institution of religion with these statements and he was proclaiming himself messiah to all who could listen to him
Does living for Christ save you or is living for Christ a byproduct of salvation? (explain)
In standing for truth do we sometimes find ourselves being rude instead of showing love? How can we change that?
III. and then he continues to lay it out
III. and then he continues to lay it out
in verse 21 he tells them he has the power to give life
in verse 21 he tells them he has the power to give life
For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
only god can give life and christ was saying he can give life again equating himself to god in the eyes of the jews…
god is sovereign and can do as he pleases because he alone has the power and authority to do it
and the son of god who is equal to god does as he wills as well
and look when you believe in the son of god for salvation you are brought to life because of the son doing the work in you and for you...
in Eph 2:1 the bible says you are dead in your sin but god has quickened or brought you back to life
the world cant do it and the religions of the world cant do it only the son of god can bring men to life
and then in verse 22-23 he declares himself the honorable judge of men
and then in verse 22-23 he declares himself the honorable judge of men
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
God willed it that all men should honor the son as they honor him and worship the son as they worship the father
and this is the truth that separates cultural christians from true christians
so many say they believe in god and say they are going to heaven but they don’t honor the son with their faith and worship
and if you are one of those people who say you said a prayer but have no signs of worship and honor towards the son then you are a cultural christian
I’ve heard preachers say we shouldn’t try to convince people they are not saved
but i think in this present day of idolatry and American Christianity we better be preaching bible and as we preach the bible sometimes we have to point out the false christianity in the world today
if you don’t and have not worshipped and honored the son then you are not saved…
in verse 24-25 he tells them he is sovereign over salvation
in verse 24-25 he tells them he is sovereign over salvation
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
look at the obvious telling of how men are saved
they hear the words of christ and commit them to obedience in their heart
they are saved by believing the words of god as truth and trust ing in the son
the results of salvation is eternal life
you move from condemnation to justification through faith in christ
once justified you are given eternal life in christ
later at the crucifixion we see the substitutionary atonement of men through christ that gives eternal life
right now though if you are living without christ you are dead… or separated from the giver of life which is god
and what separates you rom God is your sin and thats why christ came to save you from that sin
in a nut shell he is saying that hour is coming and is now when the spiritually dead of this world can hear the worlds of life
and if they hear, commit, and believe in the son of god as their salvation they can live
and if you want to know why look at verse 26
and if you want to know why look at verse 26
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
he is life and only through him can dead be made alive…
because he is the energy of life, the essence if life, source of life, and possessor of life
God made life in himself and jesus is the very being the bible says of god
church listen to me before we get to this last part… without christ we have no life…
false religion tells us that keeping rules, following ritual, or doing things bring with it life
but the bible tells us that only through christ can a person dead in their sin be made alive
all other teachings are teaching you how to gracefully get to hell…
but when you choose not to follow
if God is truly the sustainer of life can their be life apart from God?
What does Christ being Sovereign over salvation mean?
VI. He is the Perfect Judge
VI. He is the Perfect Judge
And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Jesus is the son of man
Jesus is the son of man
we have all wondered what that name meant right?
jesus lived as all of us have lived and was tempted as all of us have been tempted
he saw the joys of humanity as well as the sorrow of humanity
and because of this he has the authority to be the perfect judge of men
and in that judgement what you will see his christ has the authority to sentence or damn people to hell
i know we want a flowery jesus who is all love, but the fact is he came and died for men to be free from sin and the curse of sin…
when we follow sin he gives us what we want and the punishment that follows…
but in that judgement we also see life and see we see life based on the will of the father
all of our good intentions can not give us live only the righteous mercy of a holy God can bring about life and resurrection from the grave…
The faith we either place in christ or in the world will be judged by Christ in the end. But, what makes him the perfect judge to Judge men?
how does all this apply to us
how does all this apply to us
who do you love?
do you love god rightly or do you love the world more…
are you trusting in god to make the difference in your life or are you trusting in your self…
jesus is the way to eternal life…nothing else can do it and the reason nothing else can do it is because he is God in the flesh and did the will of god while on earth and still today-
the only true justice is found in christ and we have to understand tat and follow that…
questions:
anyone without christ?
anyone need help in their sin?